The West Fork girls and boys basketball teams will host Garner-Hayfield-Ventura for a Top of Iowa Conference crossover doubleheader on Thursday. This will be the first meeting between the girls teams since 2013 and first meeting between the boys teams since 2015.
The West Fork girls (1-1) will look to rebound from a 59-22 loss to #5(3A) Forest City on Monday, where they were limited to 24.3% shooting from the field. The Warhawks active pressure defense keeps opponents on their toes with 19.5 steals per game. Leah Weaver leads the team with 14 points per game, shooting 44% from the field, followed by Nehir Kanat averaging 9.3 points per game and shooting 35.7% from three.
The G-H-V girls (1-0) won their season opener 58-49 over North Iowa on Tuesday. The Cardinals made the most of 22 steals in the win. Bella Schisel provided a major lift for the offense with 25 points, shooting at 61.1% from the field.
The West Fork boys went 20-5 last season and reached a substate final. The Warhawks will have an all new starting lineup supported by an incoming group of seniors with limited varsity reps last season in Xavier Baptiste, Ashyr Wiseman, Cannen Vold and Nolan Shreckengost. This will be the debut of new Warhawks Head Coach Abe Maske.
Maske on managing the season opener with new team.
“I know they have a new head coach who’s gonna probably do some new things, and bring new environment and culture to that program,” says Maske. “I think going into that game it’s going to be more about West Fork doing what West Fork does best. I think we can match up with any team, I think we’ll match up well with Garner. Ensuring that we do what we need to do for us to be successful. I think if we do, then I think we’ll be in good shape for that game.”
The G-H-V boys (1-0) held on for a 52-51 win over North Iowa on Tuesday in season opener. Preston Davison led the Cardinals with 12 points and shot well 57.1% from the field and from three.
Action begins at 6:15 p.m. in Sheffield.
